


Tangled Sweetness

by Sakuraiai



Series: Tangled [8]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Adoption, Alpha Dean, Alternate Universe - Different Powers, Car Accidents, Cute, Cute Kids, F/M, Halloween, Just Add Kittens, M/M, Octopus Castiel (Supernatural), Pregnant Castiel, Triplets, Wolf Dean Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-08-14 10:56:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16491215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakuraiai/pseuds/Sakuraiai
Summary: Halloween was a scary and magical time.Or so Dean thought.Finding a baby kitten and bringing her home was probably the last thing they should have done, what with Castiel almost about to give birth to their fourth child, and the triplets honing their super abilities.With emotions running at an all time high, Dean is finding things getting difficult with the fifth addition to their home, especially when they figure out her abilities.But when they looks into her beautiful eyes, both Dean and Castiel would do anything to keep her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my darlings~!  
> Sorry its later than I had anticipated, but hell, my Venom Klance fic and Nanowrimo is taking over, so apologies!
> 
> Let's do this one more time shall we?
> 
> Warning:  
> You might need a tissue.

Dean pressed his palm to the cold glass window overlooking his office in Winchester Garage. The guys had really outdone themselves this year. Dean had to hand it to them. He hadn’t had the chance to actually help as much as he did last year, what with his triplets and his new boy on the way. He smiled at the black and purple covers and bunting decorating the garage, the cute plastic skeletons hanging from the ceiling, some half hidden inside the gossamer and net curtains that looked like spider webs. The tables all had the same covers and sheets laid over them, the tables themselves filled with all sorts of foods and snacks for the guests to eat and drink. There were large spiders webs stretched all over the place, small sparkling black and blue spiders hanging on them.

It looked so cool, and Dean was sure the little kids who were running around, having fun at the party the garage had set for today. Dean and his pack had been doing this every year, mostly just for his own pack and family, but they welcomed all comers and goers, especially parents with little kids who wanted to be scared.

It was half term, so the kids weren’t in school, so today the garage was filled with little kids all dressed up in all sorts of costumes, from princesses, to superheroes to scary looking things. Dean hadn’t had as much time to dress up that morning, Castiel had the little ones all dressed up cutely. John had been dressed up like a little bat, with cute plastic wings, whereas James was dressed up in a lion onesie, with a hat that looked like a lions’ mane. His little Emma had been dressed up as a cute little penguin onesie. Castiel had opted to wearing an orange pumpkin shirt, with black triangle eyes and a wide mouth stretched over his pregnant stomach.

Dean was supposed to be getting ready that morning, but when he saw his little ones, saw just how cute they all looked, he had forgotten all about his own costume and Halloween preparations – though he had spent the majority of the morning decorating the house a little, putting up balloons and bunting for his little ones. He had always loved Halloween, and remembered all the times his parents had celebrated the holidays. Halloween was second only to Christmas, but birthdays took the top spot – and had spent the entire morning just taking picture upon picture of his adorable little ones walking around and looking so _adorable!_

His breath catching in his throat as his reflection gripped his heart, and he bared his teeth. Cas had done a hell of a job on his makeup and costume for that day – his gorgeous mate had sat him down, yanking his phone from his hand, and had taken his time to get Dean ready for the Halloween party they had spent months trying to perfect. This was their _pearls first Halloween after all, Dean! It’s got to be perfect!_

Dean had kissed his mate’s baby bump for good luck and set off to work, kissing each of his kids, and his mate, before waving goodbye. They would meet him later, when the work day was done, and the party would begin.

But they still hadn’t gotten here yet, and Dean was getting a little worried.

He knew not to worry too much, but this was his family after all. And though Sam and Gabriel were with them, it only made Dean worry about his family all the more. Many weird things happened at this time of year. He had heard so many stories about stupid psychotic people doing stupid psychotic things. He had been getting routine texts from Sam, however, telling him that everything was okay. As a wolf, and Dean’s brother, Sam understood.

Instead he focused on something else. There was no point in wasting away worrying about his family when everyone was together, safe. Cas had done a real number on him. He looked good. His grin widened when he saw a few little kids dressed in all sorts of scary Halloween costumes making their way over to him, slow with their steps, hesitant to see him.

He spotted Benny, dressed as Frankenstein, a few feet behind him, nodding to him through the reflection. He grinned, checking to make sure his teeth were sharp, and his eyes were dark and red. He had eyeliner – that he had borrowed from Gabriel of all people – lining his eyes, a deep black shadow like kohl smudged over his eyes, making his green irises pop. Cas hadn’t been able to take his hands and tentacles off him that morning, so yeah, Dean definitely looked good. He had the sucker marks around his body to prove it. Taking a quick glance down to see that his outfit was still intact, he smirked.

Baring his fangs, he turned swiftly, his long black cape swirling around his body in his wake. He held his arms up, making claw like fingers and kneeling down a little. He growled loud, trying to look as scary as was possible. The little children screamed, and burst into a fit of sugar and candy filled giggles, running away from the scary werewolf man. Dean grinned; he loved this time of year. Looking around the shop floor, he could see his friends and employees milling around, some were playing with the kids, others were talking to the parents.

But there was still a little nagging something worrying him.

Thankfully Bobby seemed to notice, he had been talking to Samandriel, the little cat shifter intern who was mated to Benny. He made his way over to Dean, patting him on his shoulder and motioning for him to take a breather. Dean did so, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone as he stepped out of the garage. He shuddered at the cold, letting it wash over him. Thankfully his cape was thick enough to keep him warm. He didn’t see many people walking around, everyone having stayed indoors this cold Halloween day. Dialling the number that was ingrained in his head and his fingers, he waited for the dial tone. Castiel’s voice came almost straight away, and he smiled at the warm feeling he got in his gut.

“Hello Dean,” His gravelly voice always got Dean’s motor running.

He smiled, shuddering in the cold. “Hey Cas, where are you babe?”

“We had a bit of a problem,” Cas’s voice was a little frantic, a little gasping and it turned Dean’s world upside down.

“What happened?” he asked. “Are you okay? The kids? The baby?”

He heard Cas take in a few deep breaths, and he copied his mate, breathing in the cold air, and breathing out the stress. Cas didn’t seem like he was hurt, or in pain, and the little ones weren’t crying. He could hear Gabriel’s voice in the background, saying something about Cas staying there and not moving. “Dean, I know I shouldn’t bother you—”

Dean immediately stopped him there.  “Baby, what’s wrong?”

“There’s been a car accident,” Castiel said, quickly adding; “– _not ours –_ ” before Dean’s heart exploded in his chest with worry. “But we heard a baby crying, and something in me told me—”

His mate had something about him, that ability to see things, to know things, so him saying that something told him to get the baby, to be the saviour. It meant something for _them._ Not letting Castiel continue, he quickly said; “Tell me where you are, I’m coming.”

 

He parked Baby next to his husbands Lincoln and was quick to get out. He saw his mate and his little ones safe in the car, Melody singing to them sweetly and softly. He noticed Gabriel standing at the corner of the road, overlooking a ditch, a hand on his slightly rounded pregnant stomach as he called down to Sam. Dean made his way to his mate first, nodding to Cas and pressing a kiss to his lips, he placed a hand to his stomach, feeling the little one inside kick, sparks flying like fireworks over his skin. He saw his triplets, reaching over to press kisses on their heads.

“What happened?” he asked.

Castiel placed a hand to his stomach. “I don’t know but I felt like we should have come down this road, and then I just knew we had to stop here. That was when we saw the smoke. And heard the crying, _Dean_ _there’s a baby crying down there,_ ”

Dean nodded. “Don’t worry; I’ll save the baby,”

With a confidence he didn’t know he had, he stood up straighter and made his way over to Gabriel. The merman pulled him over, pointing down to where Sam most likely was. He could see a car wrapped around a tree, it looked safe enough that it wouldn’t topple over, but he spied a thick branch wedged in to the front bench of the windshield and he knew that both the parents had died on impact.

Oh god.

The baby was crying, harsh and loud and wet into the air. His heart ached at the sound, and he knew he needed to get to it. He called out for Sam, hearing him a few feet away. Slowly, he followed the safest path and made his way down to the totalled car, he spotted Sam by the back door, trying to pull it open.

“It won’t budge!” He cried, using both his hands to grasp the door. Dean was by his side, helping him out as he noticed the fogged and scratched glass. Fuck. He had to get the baby out!

Stop, take a step back and think clearly. The baby door would have a child lock, so no matter how much they yanked at it, it wouldn’t open. Dean made his way around until he stood at the opposite side of the car, peering in, he saw a gorgeous little blonde baby crying in her car seat nearest to Sam, eyes closed and mouth open wide, blood all over her pretty blue princess dress.

_Oh god!_

“Sammy, I’m going to break the window,” he said, motioning to his brother. He found a big rock nestled into the ground and picked it up, thudding it against the window light enough for it to smash, but not enough for the glass shrapnel’s to go flying.

He reached into through the broken glass and unlocked the door. Sam was by his side in an instant, holding the door open while Dean swooped inside. He saw the little baby girl look up at him, her beautiful eyes were two different colours, one a gorgeous green and the other a familiar blue. She had stopped crying, but she was hiccupping, her chest heaving as she looked up at him, her little pointed ears pricked up high.

“Hey there kitten,” Dean murmured, trying to be as calm and quiet as he could be. She barely looked to be a year old, and she reminded him of his own little kids sitting safely in his mate’s car.

The little girl looked up at him, her heterochromia eyes giving him a wonderful sight. He button nose wriggled cutely as she sized him up. He waited for her for a few seconds, before he heard the car creak loudly around them. He didn’t think twice, reaching for the baby and unlocking her seat. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her out of her seat and the car.

Sam closed the door behind them, having been focusing on the parents, hoping that at least one of them was alive. He looked up at Dean and shook his head.

Oh poor little kitten.

She wrapped her arms around Dean’s neck, pressing her face to the curve of his neck and let out a little whine, her lips wobbling and her eyes tearing up. He tried to calm her down with his scent and his emotions, and found she was stilling a little in her crying. He’d have to get her checked out at the hospital, first and foremost. And then they’d have to think about whom to give her to. In the span of a moment this beautiful little kitten had just become an orphan. He squeezed her closer to him, taking in her sweet scent, stung with the blood of her parents.

But first, they needed to get out of here.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean and Castiel arrived at the hospital in record time.

Cas had sensed Dean had the little kitten, and just what he felt about the baby in his arms, and had asked for Gabriel to take the little ones while they went to the hospital to make sure the baby was okay. Gabriel had nodded, helping Castiel out of his Lincoln and into Dean’s Baby.

When Dean arrived, holding the princess dressed kitten in his arms, hidden under his jacket, keeping her safe as he helped his brother up. Sam appeared behind them, looking so sad as he glanced back at the car.

The firefighters appeared moments later, but Gabriel gave them a look to tell them to get the kitten to the hospital now. The firefighters would only prolong everything with all of their questions and interrogations. That and the little kitten wasn’t letting anyone else but Dean hold her, she starting whining and huffing when Gabriel got too close.

Dean nodded, thanking Gabriel for taking the heat. Putting the kitten in one of the car seats in the back of Baby, and helping Cas into the car. He got into the drivers’ seat and they made their way to the hospital.

The little kitten started whining, and Castiel reached a tentacle back to her, hoping to soothe her a little bit. She glanced at his tentacles, looking more intrigued than scared. Castiel gasped when she reached out for his suckers, pulling his tentacles into her gummy mouth and sucking on it.

He felt her emotions through their touch, sensed just how scared she had been, the fear that had bubbled into her, the way she had been thrown about in her little seat, and then when she looked up she saw her momma and dada laying there, not moving. How she had cried and cried because she was scared. But she wasn’t anymore. Because momma and dada were here with her right now.

“Dean…” Castiel breathed as Dean parked the car at the hospital parking spot. He hadn't even noticed they had reached the hospital, so entranced in the whirlwind emotions that came from the little one. But Dean nodded to him as he got out of the car, rushing around and opened the door to the kitten in the back. “She…she thinks we’re here parents,”

""She's probably still in shock, poor thing," Dean paused, turned to his mate and looked at him oddly. His gaze then ran to the little kitten, reaching down for her and unhooking her out the car seat. He held onto her tightly, pressing her shuddering body to his chest, letting her be soothed by his heart beat. She melted into his arms, and he felt heat sear his insides.

She was just so adorable, and she almost felt like she was already his, already _theirs_. It was a frightening concept, because she wasn’t. She was a kitten they had found, a baby that needed to be looked after, taken care for. The baby kitten squirmed a little in Dean’s arms; clenching her fingers into fists, bottom lip quivering as she lifted her head up to peer around her. Dean bounced her a little, hoping to shush her whining, but she didn’t seem like she was quietening.

She spotted Castiel standing next to her and twisted her body in Dean’s arms. Her fingers clenching into fists, making grabby hands as she leaned forward towards the octopus. Castiel’s eyes widened and he reached for her, taking her in his arms and holding her to his chest. She settled then, clenching on his shirt and laying her head against his skin, smiling and murmuring something in baby talk.

Castiel’s eyes widened as emotions poured out of her and into his head. So much pure love, something only a child could feel for their mother. It shocked him. He had only ever felt this kind of emotions and feelings from his own children, a heavy, and warm and soothing feeling of love that latched onto both him and his little ones. It was the mother and child bond, one that could only be created by the one who gave birth to the child and the child themselves.

“D-Dean,” Castiel choked out, reaching up to wrap a few more tentacles around the kitten and holding her close to him. He didn’t know he had been crying until Dean took a hold of his chin and tilted his head up, thumbs wiping away at his stray tears.

“Cas,” he murmured his eyes a little downcast. And Castiel knew what he meant, could feel what he was thinking. Though his own thoughts surged with this little kitten, he knew what he had to do.

They couldn’t keep her. Could they? Shaking his head from his thoughts, he followed Dean as they made their way into the hospital. They met Meg at the front desk, and she gazed at them oddly. Giving Castiel a look, then to his bump, and then to Dean again.

“You guys work fast,” she said with a chuckle. “Who’s this beautiful little princess?”

“She…we…” Castiel struggled to speak, unable to form words of just what happened. He still couldn’t believe himself how they had come about this little kitten, or of the fact that she was so young and had lost everything.

“Car accident,” Dean supplied quickly and chastely, though his eyes showed just how sad and stressed he was about this. “Her parents didn’t make it,”

Meg’s smile quickly fell. She rounded the desk and made her way over to the baby kitten. She held her hand over the baby’s forehead and let out a breath. Her eyes turned a familiar shade of white as she scanned the baby for any injuries.

“Well, good news is that she has no threatening injuries,” Meg stated, and both Cas and Dean felt their breath leave them with relief. Meg hummed, pressing the palm of her hands to the baby kitten’s hair. The kitten looked at her, her bottom lip wobbling again as she huffed out a whine. But Meg pressed a little harder to her hair, humming again.

Dean growled, hoping it would stop Meg’s obviously hard and heavy on the little kitten.

“Aah, I see.” Meg said suddenly, leaning away from them. Castiel took hold of her arm, hoping to get her to stop being so cryptic and answer them. “Your kitten…well, she thinks she’s _yours,”_

Dean scrunched his nose in confusion. “Why does she think that?”

“Your little one,” Meg said, pointing to Castiel’s baby bump. “It’s a bit complicated, but in laymen's terms, your little one and this kitten have bonded,”

“B-bonded?” Castiel asked, pressing a tentacle to his bump, feeling his little pearl jump and kick a little inside. “Is that…bad?”

Meg shook her head. “Nah, not really, not for the kitten,” she stated, reaching for a clipboard and a pen and writing on the form in her hands. She pressed a hand under the kitten’s chin, tickling her a little. “But for you two? I think Jack will be able to tell you a little bit more, once we’ve checked kitty out here,”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry its taken so long to update!  
> I'm trying to go through everything while I still can!

Jack scrunched his nose in annoyance.

He held his hand out to the little kitten, is palm hovering over her face. The little kitten looked up at him, hand stuck in her mouth, sitting on Castiel’s lap. Her other hand was gripping tight to Castiel’s tentacles, holding on tight as if the octopus shifter was thinking about leaving.

At that moment, Castiel was in no way about to let go of this pretty little one. Though, he had thought to pass her onto Dean, after all, she was teetering at the edge of his tentacle bends, what with his large pregnant stomach pushing her forward. But she seemed happy enough to sit on his lap, leaning back onto his rounded stomach and giggling every time she felt the little boy inside kick.

Dean stood next to Cas, watching with apt interest as Jack hummed, that annoying little hum that he did every once in a while. Arms crossed over his chest, eyes narrow as he waited for whatever results he could get from the paediatrician. They had already checked the kitten out with the doctors and found she wasn’t seriously injured. Just a few bruises and cuts here and there which had been treated straight away, but that didn’t mean she might not have any internal problems.

She had been through such a traumatic experience. Though she wasn’t obvious in showing her distress, she had latched onto him and Cas, and the baby, almost immediately. That had to be something worrying.

He had gone through his own state of problems over the years, and honestly, he really didn’t want such a young thing to have any bad thoughts – he was noticing he was getting attached to the kitten, and he blamed it on his alpha instincts. Though he was always a little protective of his pack and his friends, his little ones had brought this extra neediness out in him, the need to protect and care for as many people as he could.

It was why he had come to close to this little one, so quickly. Helping her out of the wreckage, and holding her to his chest as she snuffled and sniffled, whining and crying as he ascended the ditch, he vowed to himself that he would take care of her, that he would get her just where she needed to go.

He really didn’t want her to go to an orphanage, or to a foster house, she was just so little. He had everything they needed for a little one, what with their fourth child on the way. But…could they take her? What would they have to do to do this? Would she want to come with them?

Hell, what would Cas think? Would he want her here?

Looking down to his mate, seeing Cas’s arms wrapped protectively around the little kitten, he knew that look, he recognised that feeling, it was something he had seen Cas do with their own little ones – especially with their little girl. He was mothering the little kitten as if she was his own.

They could do it. His garage was booming with business, and with Chuck helping them out almost all the time – the rich man was very generous when it came to his littlest child and his grandkids – they didn’t have to worry about the financial aspects – he thanked god every day.

But…that got him thinking. What about his own little ones? His triplets may not like her at all. What if she didn’t like them? She had bonded – whatever that meant – with their unborn child. Would that transfer onto the others, and what exactly did it mean that they were bonded?

Would their fourth boy suffer from it if they didn’t take the kitten in?

There were just too many questions, and he didn’t have any answers. So instead, he took in a deep breath, and focused on what was happening now. Uncrossing his arms, he settled onto the chair, looking down at the little kitten. Her two coloured eyes stared into his, mouth gummy and wet around her fist as she sucked on it, toothless gums pressing into the flesh. Her eyes were so wonderful, so bright, they reminded him of his and Cas’s eyes, the ocean meeting the forest – yeah, he was turning sappy in his fatherhood – her ears were perched up in high points on the top of her head, the same colour as her hair. Her princess dress had been changed into one of Emma’s outfits, though the shirt was a bit big on her, she was a tiny thing after all, the bright colours looked adorable on her.

He sighed, his heart knew what it wanted, but the questions still ran. He’d have to speak with Cas when they could about this. Words were better heard out loud after all, it wasn’t enough to just feel how much Cas was falling in love with the little kitten as he held her.

“I see,” Jack finally said, reaching down and tapping the kitten on her nose. He looked up to both Cas and Dean as he told them the results. “She’s a little traumatised, but the bond she has created with the three of you is really helping her. She seems to have repressed the image of her parents…” – he paused, a frown on his face – “which, I think is a blessing, but that does mean that it might come back at a later date, with full force.”

He pressed a thumb to the middle of her forehead, watching at the little kitten’s eyes came together, crossing over almost as she tried to follow the thumb. She reached up with her wet hand to touch him, but Jack hummed, immediately leaning away.

“She seems to have replaced her parents with you both,” Jack stated, his nose wrinkling again. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing. But you two did look like her parents, so she’s definitely confused,”

“Will her trauma affect her later in life?” Castiel asked, pressing the kitten to his round stomach, tentacles wrapping around her to keep her safe from falling.

“It would seem so,” Jack sighed, leaning back and reaching for a folder on the shelf of one of his many shelves. Pulling it out, he skimmed through it, before reaching out to give it to Dean. “She needs all the love and care she can get while she recovers,”

Dean took the file, opening it. And his eyes widened. Adoption papers.

“I know it’s a lot to ask,” Jack continued, looking up to them both. “She could lash out in a foster or care home, and she’s bonded with you all so quickly, maybe she can stay with you while we find someone for her?”

Dean looked at Castiel, and looking into those blue eyes, he already knew the answer.

“I’ll leave you to discuss it,” Jack stood up then, nodding and leaving them to their devices. He took one look back at them at the door, “Think about it,”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry its been so long~!  
> But guys, good news! After having a literal scrape of my brain because of a pesky parasite (not Venom...though I wish), I am healthy and happy and on my way to a full recovery!
> 
> But enough about me, let's get on with the show!

Castiel knew there was no need for him to think about what he wanted to do with the little kitten in his arms and tentacles. He had felt it inside the kitten, her love, her purity, her need to be nestled in her mothers’ arms and stay there, happy and safe.

She looked up at him, her two coloured eyes wide as she made grabbing motions, babbling non-existent words at who she thought was her mother. His wrapped his tentacles tighter around her middle, keeping her safe as he lifted her up in his arms. Her little tail flicked up from her nappied butt, her little princess dress rising alongside it. Her tail was bushy right now, and matted a little with blood – her parent’s blood – as was her hair. It was almost sickening to see.

He squeezed at her middle, and smiled when she took a hold of his tentacle and stuck it into her mouth. Jack always did the same thing, it always made Castiel feel so much closer to his little pearls whenever they did something so sweet like this.

Castiel knew he couldn’t let her go. Not easily.

He looked up at his mate, hoping he didn’t have to bed for Dean to reconsider. Did he not see just how beautiful the kitten was, or just how lovely she smelled, how sweet she looked all swaddled up in his tentacles, pressing her chubby hands onto his pregnant stomach.

“Are you sure?” Dean asked.

Castiel nodded, wrapping his arms around the kitten. He knew he was probably acting like a small child wanting a new toy. But he just couldn’t explain it. Having touched this little kitten, feeling what she felt. It was like a deep bond had been created, something that had never happened before. And he just had to keep her, even for a little while – or forever, he wasn’t bothered.

But they had to think realistically. This wasn’t just a toy they were bringing home; this was a whole child, a baby kitten. And even though they already had everything they would need to keep this little one happy and healthy – she looked similar to the age of their own little ones, maybe just a few months smaller – they still had to wonder whether the kitten would bond with their triplets, or if their triplets would _like_ the kitten.

There was the whole cat dog thing, sometimes wolf pups didn’t like kittens, and sometimes kittens didn’t like octopuses. It was going to be difficult, especially with the trauma the kitten had just gone through. They were going to have to give the kitten all the love and attention that she could possibly want just to have her go out there and live like a healthy and happy cat.

They were going to have to work through this together.

But if Dean didn’t want her…well Castiel wasn’t sure what he was going to do.

His little baby hiccupped inside him, kicking against his stomach, as if he were playing with the kitten herself. Maybe he was, they weren’t sure what the kittens’ abilities and skills were, and it wasn’t like they had anyone they could ask.

The police had put the story up on the news by now, and Gabriel had given their names and contact information to the police if there ever came to the time where this little one was to be taken by her own family members.

Though, seeing her, feeling her and bonding with her so quickly, Castiel knew that this little one didn’t have anyone else. It was a sad thought. But it meant that they could potentially take care of her. Provided his triplets liked her.

He had no doubt that they would, but he wanted to make sure his mate, his husband, felt the same way.

“I’m so sure,” Castiel answered, knowing that nodding just wasn’t going to be enough.

He knew they were already expecting a beautiful baby boy – in the next few weeks in fact – so this little one coming here, it could go either way. He prayed it would all go well, however.

Dean nodded, looking down at the little girl in his mates arms. Castiel always looked so at home with a little one. Pregnant and beautiful, it did things to Dean. Things that made his heart grow a few sizes – alongside many other things, but then again, that was neither here nor there, not right now – he reached a hand down and pressed a little palm to the kitten.

She looked up at him, chubby hands wrapping around his large fingers and held them up in the air, before putting them onto her head and moving his hand back and forth a little, as if she wanted Dean to ruffle her hair.

She looked up at him, her two coloured eyes wide and filled with so much happiness; Dean could actually scent it coming from her. His nose twitched at her rosy scent and he smiled.

She gasped her mouth moving as she tried to make words. It reminded Dean of when he had first heard his little ones taking. He smiled at her, urging her to try and talk.

She opened her mouth again, mouth slick with her spit. “Dada!” she gasped, her voice like a sleek lilting bell.

Dean almost lost his breath. He pressed his hand warmly on her head, ruffling her hair again. Though in his heart he knew she wasn’t his actual daughter, hearing her call him dad reminded him of his own children.

“Alright,” Dean replied softly, “We have to show her to the kids, see what they think,”

Castiel nodded, a wet smile on his lips, he hugged the kitten tightly to his chest and let out a loud sigh. He really didn’t want to let go of the little girl, and he definitely did not want to leave her here to get lost in the system. She was such a sweet, young thing, too innocent and adorable.

And they had the means to look after her, and though they already had a pretty big family, with another one coming, he wasn’t all too sure they could cope. But they were going to do their best, because they were a good family. They were going to do their best.

The process to have her was going to be long, he knew that, but they’d first have to show their new addition to their lovely triplets.

He hoped it would go well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear!  
> She's fitting in well with the parents, let's see what kitty thinks of the kids.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your well wishes.

The initial paperwork to get the little kitten into their custody, if only until someone came for the kitten herself, was a rather menial task. But it was done quite quickly, especially when the person they had to speak to – one Mitch or Ketch, or whatever that slimey git’s name was; not that Dean cared at that moment, because if that son of a bitch didn’t let go of his tight hold on the kit, Dean was going to deck the lights out of him – was taking his sweet time to give them custody for the night.

They had to go through a brief hearing, where they sat opposite Ketch – yeah, that’s it, what kind of name is Ketch? – and listened to him prattle on about taking care of a post traumatic child.

Dean had focused, damn, had he tried to focus, because what the man was saying was _important_. They were going to need this in the future. But he just couldn’t not let go of the way Ketch was holding onto the kitten in his arms. She was squirming and writhing, looking back at Dean and waggling her tail in distress, her hands making grabbing motions towards him.

He just wanted to hold her close and keep her safe.

But he needed to listen. So he held his temper and watched those lips move, his ears perked at the whiney huffing sounds coming from the kitten. Though hearing her and smelling his mates’ worried and scared scent was making him more and more angry.

“…know her name, or her age,” Ketch’s voice came through the haze. And Dean returned from his rage.

It was true, they didn’t know her name, or her age, or anything about her. And yet they were going to take her in, for however long they could. But did that really matter? They’d figure out her name, most parents wrote their children’s name on their children’s clothes – he knew he did with his triplets, but that didn’t really matter as the two boys wore each other’s clothes at most times any way. 

Ketch seemed to have the same idea, because he lifted the kit up in the air and started grabbing at her clothes. She whined and her lips pouted cutely before she started crying. Fat tears welled up and dripped from her two toned eyes and her sonorously mewling cries filled the air.

It stuck like an arrow right into Dean’s heart, and he bee lined for the little one, taking her into his arms and holding her close. He rocked her, similarly to how he would rock his own, and she hushed almost immediately. 

Ketch watched them, a twinkle like gleam in his eyes, and he smiled. “I see... you two are the best for her,” he stated calmly. “Would you please see if her name is on her clothing?”

Dean paused, had he been acting like this to see what Dean would do? Sure he was an alpha wolf, but he would never hurt a child. In a weird and twisted way, he still wanted to deck Ketch, but in another, he was glad he had passed the test.

Looking down to the little kit in his arms, he held her to his chest and reached for the hem of her dress. The blood was matted on her skin here as well, and he knew she needed to take a bath soon. But she wasn’t complaining about it right now, so it was definitely a one thing at a time situation.

There was a smudge of ink on the tag of her dress, but he could distinctly see the first four letters, the rest having been smeared due to over wear. But he smiled.

S. A. M. M.

He lifted her up a little, grabbing her attention. She gazed at him, her mouth still in a cute little frown. “Sammy?”

Her eyes widened and her lips stretched across her face. She clapped her hands together and pointed to Dean. “Dada!” she replied gleefully, before pointing to herself and grinning. “Sammy!”

“So, Sammy Winchester it is then. Please sign this,” Ketch murmured, writing something down on a piece of paper. He held the paperwork out to Castiel. The octopus took it, skimming over the paper.

“You’re giving her to us?” he asked, having to reread the paper again. It wasn’t adoption papers, but something really similar. There wasn’t a date to end their custody, though there was a space for it. But this wasn’t foster care either.  He had never seen this kind of paperwork before.

“Look, your circumstances are a little different than some,” Ketch said simply, getting up from his chair and making his way along his table and in front of Dean. The wolf held the kit close to his chest, watching Ketch. “But I can see clearly that she will do well with you both,”

“What about the paperwork?” Castiel asked, holding the paper up a little. “What does this mean?”

“Think of it as a delayed birth certificate,” Ketch replied, gesturing to the baby. “She is in all intents and purposes  _ your  _ child,” adding quickly, “unless her real family comes to take her,”

Dean’s eyes widened, his heart going miles a minute. He hadn’t technically expected it to go this way at all. He didn’t think he’d want to adopt the little one into their family. But now that it had happened – and so surprisingly easily – he was glad for it.

“Little Sammy will be a great addition for your family,” Ketch continued, somewhat ominously. “But I would be wary of her around James and Melody,”

Castiel stood up then, holding a hand to his protruding stomach. “How do you—?”

Ketch held a finger to his nose, his eyes shining a little brighter until the irises were a bright blue in colour. “I never reveal my secrets, but I urge you to trust me,”

Castiel sat back down, holding onto the edge of the seat as he bent in a way to accommodate his large stomach. He was still dressed in his pumpkin shirt, but it was slowly starting to get cold. Dean was on him straight way, and shrugged off his jacket with one arm and wrapped it around his mate, keeping him warm.

“ _That_ …” Ketch replied, holding a hand out to Dean and Castiel. “That right there is why I am confident you two will do well, so please, if you’re serious,  _ sign. _ ”

Dean nodded, grasping onto the little girl, wrapping her safely in his arms as she laid her head on his chest, lulled to quietness by his heart beating. He watched as Castiel looked up at him, and then to the paperwork. Taking the pen sitting on the table, he signed his name, handing the pen for Dean to do the same. Dean nodded, taking the pen and signing his name.

Ketch motioned for them to leave when they were ready, and they did just that.

Castiel grasped the signed paperwork, his hands shaking. He wasn’t sure what to think. This was happening all too easily, all too quickly. He felt his little one kick in his stomach, felt the warm sparks he had gotten used to feeling over the past few weeks as his fourth – no, this would be considered his fifth child, wouldn’t it? – tried to calm him down.

Dean helped Castiel up, as the little kitten made grabby hands for Castiel, she was murmuring an ‘umm, umm’ sound, that must have meant she was calling for him. Castiel took her into his arms, holding her up above his large stomach. Sammy

“Oh, before you go,” Ketch stopped them before they left. “I would consult with Meg, little Sammy needs to get that nasty little bump checked over,”

Castiel nodded, pressing a hand to the back of Sammy’s head, and holding her close to him. He could feel her distress. She really was hurting. And he wished he was able to take the pain away from her. Maybe Meg could help them out.

He followed Dean out of the office and heard Sammy mewling in his arms. He rocked her a little, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Don’t worry Sammy,” he murmured, “You’re going to be just fine,”

 

Meg checked over Sammy, and sent the two away with a lollipop for the little kitten. She held it in her sticky hands, sucking away at the sweet red treat, a sticker on her dress and a smile on her face. 

Dean strapped her into James’s seat, dropping his head down at the fact that they were probably going to have to get a bigger car now. It was going to be impossible to fit five car seats into Baby. One of Castiel’s tentacles wrapped around his arm and he patted at it, letting the feeling of calm wash over him.

God, he loved his husband. There was no doubt there, ever.

He patted little Sammy’s head and leaned back away, closing the door and making his way to the drivers’ seat. Settling down, he took one look at the kitten from his mirror, and then to Castiel. His mate nodded to him, and together they were off.

It didn’t take very long for Dean to reach back to their reserve home. He parked his car in his spot, and saw Sam’s car in the driveway as well. He sighed, not really wanting to explain just what had happened. They had to get Sammy cleaned up and his triplets, and Sammy to bed.

Oh god, the triplets.

This was going to be hectic, that was for sure.

He jumped out of the car, turning and helping his mate out of the car. When Castiel found his bearings, pushing Dean out of the way as he stood up, Dean made his way for Sammy. She gave him a bright smile, holding her sticky hands up to him.

“Alright then, Sammy,” he said as he unstrapped the kitten from the seat. “You ready to meet the family?”

Sammy gurgled wetly, placing a thick, sticky hand on Dean’s face, making him wince a little at the stickiness – though he was used to sticky kids, it still made him grimace – and giggled. Well, it was now or never. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got a plan... I promise.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My lovely readers.  
> It is December...like...already.
> 
> ....that is all.

“What do you mean she’s _your_ child now?”

Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest, sitting in the middle of the living room, his tail out and proud, fins inside a large bowl filled with water – meaning his tail had been out for a very long time – his stomach a thick football shaped pouch of pregnancy.

Melody was sitting next to him playing with Sam’s longer hair, tying it up in sweet little braids similar to her own. While Sam had little Emma in his arms, playing with her tentacles as she sucked on a teething ring. Jack and John were running around them, playing something or another as they jumped over sofa cushions and other obstacles.

They had all stopped when their parents had come into the house, opening the door themselves and greeting their home. They had made their way into the living room, seeing their children playing, a children’s show on television that Gabriel and the girls were watching.

Little Sammy had huddled into Dean’s chest, but she was looking at them, specifically at James. Her eyes were wide as she followed him running up to Dean and Cas, holding his arms up in the air for his momma to pick him up.

“Who zat?” he had asked, mouth slurring at the words, pointing at the little girl in Dean’s arms.

That brought Gabriel and the others in the rooms’ attention. They turned to Dean, seeing Dean and the little kitten curled in his arms.

“This,” Castiel said slowly, settling down on the sofa and nuzzling his little ones nose with his own. James climbed from his mother’s arms and laid his ear on Castiel’s pregnant stomach, smiling as he said hello to the baby boy. “Is your new sister.”

Gabriel got up from his seat, gently placing Melody onto the sofa cushions still on the couch and turned to them with an odd look in his eyes.  “What are you talking about?

Dean actually looked a little embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head. “It’s a little hard to explain, everything happened so fast,”

“She’s our child now,” Castiel interjected quickly, helping out his flustered mate.

Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest, looking at them with that odd glint in his eyes. He spoke so softly, so carefully, that it ran through their heads in a way that was both soothing and frightening. “What do you mean she’s _your_ child, for now?”

Castiel lifted up John as he made his way over to the couch, and smiled when he too copied his brother and lay his head on Castiel’s stomach, listening to the baby and saying hello. It was an odd thing these little ones did, but he loved seeing them bond with him and the new baby.

“She’s _technically_ ours,” Dean tried to explain, but he knew it wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to do right now. Gabriel wasn’t angry, not really, but he looked a little pissed off. The gold glint in his eyes turning almost alpha in a way.  “At least until her family come for her,”

He added the ‘if they ever will’ in his head.

“Little Sammy is traumatised,” Castiel argued, patting his two boys on their fluffy haired heads. “She just needs someone to care for her,”

“So you just volunteered?”

“No, we didn’t just…look,” Dean started, knowing that it was going to be hard to explain, and he really didn’t want to use the ‘you weren’t there’ cliché. Because really, Gabriel hadn’t been there, he hadn’t seen how worried she had been, he hadn’t witnessed the bond they had created. And he had definitely not seen how she had warmed up to them all so quickly. She had something about her that was for sure. If it were her skills or her abilities, or just her pretty personality, they didn’t know.

But they had created a bond with her, and Dean really didn’t want to break that with her. He desperately did not want her to remember losing her parents, or even get to the point where she had traumatic stress because of it.

He knew she was going to, he had expected as much, especially with what Ketch and Meg had told them, but he knew she was way too young to be pressured by something like this. She deserved love and care and attention, and sure Dean and Cas already had three kids of their own, they had enough love to share with her as well.

“She bonded with the baby,” he replied almost dumbly, not sure how else to explain to the merman about just _what_ he was feeling for the kitten. “It’s…look; it’s hard to explain, alright?”

The little kitten fidgeted in his arms, and he knew she was feeling stressed out about it all. Whatever it was that was going through her mind, he really didn’t want to know, purely because she looked like she was close to crying with the tension in the room.

“We’re just going to take care of her,” Castiel tried to placate. “It’s better for her now with her injuries, than being carted off to some foster home,”

“Cats eat fish!” Gabriel remarked, and Dean knew he was grasping at straws.

He rebutted with; “Yeah, and dogs eat cats, circle of life man,” shifting Sammy in his arms, he tried to shush her whimpers, and added. “We are not our species, we are above that,”

Gabriel let out a sigh, he materialised his legs – hearing a whine and a huff from his husband and their girl – and made his way over to Dean. He held his hands out in a grabbing motion.

“Well,” he said, as Dean eyed him warily. “Let me see her,”

Trusting the man, he handed Sammy off to Gabriel, and watched as she clapped a little, looking up at him with awe. His eyes turned their alpha gold as he used his skills on her. Sammy watched, enthralled as he started humming a little, a low timbered sound that caused her fidgeting to cease and her mind to calm.

Moments passed until Gabriel finally returned. He looked at Sammy, and then back at Dean and Castiel, and then back to the kitten.

“You are sure?” he asked, looking directly into her eyes. Sammy let out a few babbles, clapping her hands to Gabriel’s chin, and nodded. “Alright then,” he looked up at the others and sighed. “I can’t be for certain, but yeah…she’s going to be a good addition to this family.”

Sam stood up then, Melody having finished with his braids, and reached for the new kitten. He always did love babies, and this one was adorable. She wrinkled her nose a little, reaching up to tug at Sam’s braided hair, but not hard enough to break the braid.

“What’s her name?” Sam asked, cooing a little when he saw her stick her hand in her mouth. Melody stood by his feet, looking up at them and calling for her father. Sam ducked down to his little one, showing her the kitten.

“Her names’ Sammy,”

Sam eyed his brother, eyebrows bunched together in an annoyed face, and he growled a little under his breath.

Melody reached for the baby however, patting the kitten on her head and grinned. “Hello Sammy! Welcome to Winchester,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am taking liberties with the little ones talking, but they are all baby speech slurred, so...eheh?
> 
> Gabriel just wants to protect his pack. But he definitely saw something in Sammy...


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all!  
> Sorry for the long wait!  
> Had a bit of a problem over the past few weeks, was made redundant and fractured my wrist (had writing with only one hand...sigh) but I just could not leave this for so long.  
> So as a Christmas present to all you lovely and adorable readers out there, I will do my best to make this an every day update, alongside the others.
> 
> Don't quote me on that though, because I have started a new job, and that does mean that I will be a little worked out over the upcoming weeks.
> 
> Good luck me, and good luck us!

The house was quiet.

A little too quiet.

And that made every single hair on Dean’s body stand up, and made the alpha wolf wonder just _why_ it was so quiet right now. It was just a few minutes before their triplets nap time, and though Dean was used to the usual crying and bellowing that came from his pretty pups and hatchling, along with the splish splashing sound coming from the large bathroom as Cas gave his little ones a bath, it was just…well…quiet.

He had little James in his arms, who was happily sucking away at his bottle of warm milk, and dozing a little as he tried to stay awake and look at his dad. Dean pressed a hand to James’s forehead, scratching lightly just behind his ear, and slowly got up. He needed to investigate just what was happening.

Where was little Emma’s giggles as she splashed her tentacles in the warm water, or little John’s babbling as he played with his cars on the bathroom tiles behind him, wrapped up tight and safe in Cas’s tentacles.

He couldn’t even hear Sammy. Though they had sought to let the little one rest and recuperate. They had changed her clothes, and her nappy, given her a bottle of formula and had laid her down on James’s bed for that night. They weren’t sure where they were going to put her for the night, but maybe for tonight at least the boys could share a crib. Emma liked to splay her tentacles out when she slept, and they didn’t really want her to accidentally spread her limbs all over Sammy.

They were probably going to have to get another crib. Dean hadn’t had the chance to make the new crib for their fourth – now fifth if no one came to take Sammy away from them, -- child. He really needed to get a lock down on that.

But yeah, so they’ll just pretend that they what…had quadruplets and then a fifth child? He wasn’t sure just how old the baby kitten was. She did look a little smaller than his triplets, but then again, his triplets were larger than most. Maybe kittens were just…small in nature?

He’d have to find someone to talk to about that.

James, Meg, Ketch, hell everyone at the hospital had said she was healthy. Just the bump on her head and the overall trauma that would come with her having lost her family at such a young age and maybe memories may plague her. It was hard for babies to decipher normal emotions sometimes. But something as traumatic as what she had been through was going to be tough.

He wasn’t sure if he would be able to take it, but he was going to damn well try. Little Sammy had carved her way into his heart and it looked like she had no intentions of leaving any time soon.

But that did leave the overall worry of just why his family were so quiet right now.

James squirmed a little in his arms, gripping at the bottle tight and trying to finish his milk as quickly as possible. Dean hushed him, rocking him gently and made his way to the stairs.

“You’re just as eager to see the new addition to the family as I am, aren’t you pup?” Dean murmured, grinning to his little one. He made slow and steady moves as he walked up the stairs, not wanting to disturb James as he drank.

They reached the top floor and Dean made a beeline for the bathroom first. The door was ajar, but there was no one inside. Surely, he couldn’t have spent so long on feeding James that he had missed his chance to come in and take Emma from Cas; he always loved getting her and the others ready for bed.

The bath was draining in the tub, so it couldn’t have been that long since Cas had left. James squirmed again, pushing the bottle away from his mouth. Dean sighed, seeing the bottle was empty, and placed it in the sink along with the bath toys. They’d need to wash them of soap anyway; they could clean the bottle alongside it.

He held James to his chest, and gently patted him on the back. James rested his head against his dad’s shoulders, murmuring his name in babble, and let out a loud burp. Dean chuckled, but kept little James on his chest, placing his large hand on his back.

James snuffled a little, but lay resting in his dad’s arms. Dean nodded, seeing that James was doing okay, and made his way out of the bathroom and into the baby’s room. One side of the room had the triplet’s beds, and the other side was completely empty, ready for the fourth cot, which was still leaning in its box against the wall.

Yeah, so he had to do something about that soon.

He saw his beautiful husband standing by the nappy changing table, little Emma in his arms as he quickly and swiftly put baby powder and lotion on her tentacles, and gathered her tentacles together to put her nappy on. She gurgled a little, though she was softly and soundly asleep on the table. Dean spotted John in his bed, sleeping soundly, thumb in his mouth and a little stuffed bee wrapped around his arm and hugged close to his chest.

Cas turned to Dean, motioning for him to put the sleeping James into John’s cot alongside John. Dean hadn’t even noticed his eldest had gone to sleep in his arms, but the feeling of it made his heart grow a few more sized. He _loved_ knowing his little ones felt so safe and happy and warm enough to sleep on him while he rocked them gently.

He side stepped around Cas, pressing a kiss to his hair, and laid James next to John in the cot. James snuffled a little bit, but rested, hands reaching out to clasp his brother’s sleeve, tugging it close and falling asleep just like that.

Oh god, Dean needed to take a picture of that.

He cleared his throat and turned his attention to his beautiful mate, seeing as Cas placed their little girl into the crib, she had her tentacles wrapped loosely around her momma, and was adamant to let Cas go, even in her sleep – Dean could understand that.  But she finally settled in her bed, reaching for her stuffed toy and hugging it in her tentacles.

Cas looked up to him, and motioned for Sammy.

“She doesn’t seem very happy,” Cas murmured, placing a hand on the cot that held little Sammy inside. She was curled in on herself, her long tail on the bed around her body, her little ears pinned back to her head. Her pretty face was scrunched up, and she was whining a little, small huffed sounds escaping her lips. She seemed to be having a bad dream.

Dean placed a hand to her head, patting her slicked back ears, scratching them the same way his momma would scratch his own ears when he was little. She seemed to relax a bit at the soothing motion.

Cas reached for her then, tentacles and arms wrapping around her body and lifting her up in his arms. He knew it wasn’t the best of ideas to hold a sleeping baby when they were so deep in sleep, but he hated seeing her like this.

Sammy struggled a little, but settled into Cas’s arms, she splayed her hands out over his body and clutched onto his shirt.

“Hush, little one,” Cas murmured, leaning down to press a kiss to her freshly washed hair. “Momma’s right here,”

Dean’s eyes widened at that, but he couldn’t help but smile. He had initially thought Cas would be against the whole idea to keep Sammy. After all, Dean had asked for Sammy to stay, and though Cas had been okay about it, she was still a whole other child. And with their next baby coming, Dean hadn’t been so sure what Cas thought.

He watched as Cas made his way over to the rocking chair, holding onto Sammy and pressing her head to his shoulder, laying her across his heaving stomach. She settled into him almost immediately, as if she had been doing this forever, and murmured a little, before relaxing completely.

She no longer had the scrunched up and scared face, thank goodness.

“Dean, what are we going to do?” Cas murmured as he rocked her on the chair. The soft and rhythmic sound of the rocking chair almost putting Dean into the same haze of sleep as his little ones got when Cas put them to sleep.

“About what?” Dean asked, lost in the haze.

Castiel motioned to Sammy. “She needs a place to sleep, clothes, food, all sorts of things. We know nothing about her, what she likes, what she dislikes, allergies, problems. What if she doesn’t like the pearls, what if they don’t like her?”

Dean rushed over to his worried mate, running a soothing hand over Cas’s hair. He leaned down and pressed a chaste, yet meaningful kiss to those sinful lips.

“She was fine with them today,” Dean murmured quietly, memories returning to the evening when she had been a little scared, but happy to have the triplets around her. Though she stayed with him and Cas, she had slowly started to open up and reach for the three.

The triplets had all, thankfully, seemed intrigued and happy to welcome the new addition to their family – which Dean was glad for, because he had been worried about what they would be like with the little bun in Cas’s oven. But knowing they were so welcoming was actually a load off his mind.

They had conversed in their little baby speak, and they had started showing their skills to Sammy, one by one. Levitating dummies and pacifiers, little sparks of fireworks, some pretty and sonorous singing from Melody as she zoomed around them in a mad dash circle, playing with her fairy wand and fluttering wings. The night had soon turned festive once again as the Halloween festivities continued.

Sammy had been fidgety and agitated when she had to part from the triplets, crying whenever she was away from them. They had had to have James in the bathroom with her when they had given her a bath and checked her injuries, she reacted very well with their eldest, and it was a little worrying.

What was that going to mean for the future.

“I think we’re just tired,” Dean stated, taking the sleeping Sammy from Cas’s hands and placing her into the cot. He reached for Cas’s hand and helped him up off the chair. “We should get some rest and think about this in the morning,”

Castiel nodded, taking one last look at his triplets and the newest addition to their family, and followed Dean out of the baby’s room and into their own room. They had been through a lot today, and they needed their rest. They would look into what this meant to them and their growing family tomorrow. Right now, Cas wanted to wrap his gorgeous husband in his tentacles and sleep the rest of the night away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ever so sweetly, little Sammy is making her space known.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, don't be worried that this is indeed the last chapter to this fic in the season, but I don't think this series had ended just yet.  
> She's still got stuff left in her.

Sammy was making herself known in the Winchester household.

She had taken to everything with happy smiles and minimal, but by no means less than normal, cries. At first, Cas had been worried. He had expected her to have a different timing than his triplets. But she had grabbed onto his tentacles and played with the triplets at their play times, stuck by them whenever they had to go outside or away, she ate lunch and dinner with the entire family, and whenever the triplets had wanted to. She bathed happily with Emma and she even slept serenely throughout the night – well mostly, there were some nights where she would let out little whimpers and be unable to sleep without a bottle and a nice soothing rocking from Cas or Dean.

Though those nights were not as many as they had initially hoped, Dean had spent a short while making the cot that was intended for their fourth – now fifth – addition to the family, and she slept in it pretty peacefully when she was with the others.

Sammy didn’t like to be alone, Cas had noticed, she needed to have someone around her, let it be one of the triplets – she had taken quite a shine to James as the days moved forward – or either one of them. But she was happy to just sit on the floor or in the playpen, playing with whatever toy she could reach. But she’d constantly look up to see if someone was with her.

Jack had told them this was normal for a traumatised child, internally she knew what had happened, and she was trying to bypass that feeling by making sure the ones she loved were around her, safe and sound.

It ached to think she was like this at such a young age. She had been through so much, and Cas always pushed back the urge to just tangle her in his tentacles and hold her close. He wanted to make sure nothing bad every happened to her ever again.

But that was neither here nor there anymore, because – though he hated the very thought of it – Sammy wasn’t their child. Someone could just as easily come in and take her away.

But he wasn’t going to think about that right now.

In fact, if he could help himself, he wasn’t going to think about it ever.

Gazing at her and his little ones who were sleeping soundly in their cots, he thought to himself; “You need some more clothes, my kitten,”

It had worried him, again subconsciously, how this little kitten had become so ingrained in his and his family’s life. How it had only been a simple little month since he had taken her into his arms as one of his own and brought her home. It was frightening to think he had easily brought such a pretty little kitten into his home when he already had another pretty pup or hatchling waiting for him inside him.

Meg and Jack had come over to check on Sammy and the triplets a few weeks back, when Sammy had first started living with them, and they all had attended sessions with Rowena even after the skills sessions had been over and done with. Rowena had been adamant they attend when they could purely because a new addition could cause a ruckus to the triplets and the overall “harmony” – as she so put it – of the household.

They were supposed to meet her in a few months’ time anyway, so it wasn’t much of a hassle or a waste for any of them to meet her prematurely.

However, now that he thought about it…five little kids were in the house. Though Cas was over the moon about it, he had always wanted a large family, it was a little too close with their ages than he had initially expected. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to cope.

His triplets were turning three, and they’d soon be in school, his new one was due any day now, and Sammy, she looked and acted about two years old, though she wasn’t really showing any signs of her skills or abilities. However, they were supposed to meet up with Rowena the next day, so he wasn’t too worried about that. Jack had told them a traumatised child was probably repressing their skills. It’d come out on its own time.

Though she had been making herself at home, and fit in well with the family. Cas could still see parts of Sammy, hell he could _feel_ parts of her trying to block out the past trauma she had been through.

He was so worried for her, and he didn’t know how to help her.

He had witnessed her whimpering in the night as memories plagued her. Dean’s keen hearing had him up like a shot and right by his little ones sides when he heard things like that. So Cas would instead make his way to the kitchen, warm up bottles or get medicine, whatever it was that his little ones needed, and making his way quickly, and quietly, to the babies bedrooms. He’d see Dean gently rocking their stressed child, singing sweetly to them and lulling them back to sleep.

It was always such an amazing thing to see, it made him feel so warm and lovely. So full of love for his husband.

Right now, as Cas pushed the bedroom door open, he was surprised to see James was also awake, the small blankets and wipes and a few nappies were floating in the air around them, lifted off the ground a few feet and swaying lazily in the air due to his sleepiness. He saw James was peering into Sammy’s eyes as she sniffled on Dean’s shoulder. She was mesmerised by the floating things, her heterochromic eyes wide and glowing against the starry lights of the night light spinning dimly on the walls.

She spotted him and started fidgeting in Dean’s arms, eager to get to him. Dean turned and saw Cas, smiling tiredly, and handed little Sammy off to him.

“She’s up earlier than usual,” he noted. Sammy usually woke earlier than the others, and Cas loved having those few moments alone with her before the others woke up and wanted his attention. It was nice, so nice that the idea of her not being their own was…well; it wasn’t something he noticed anymore. She was every part his own as the triplets were.

And that frightened him a little. Taking her into his arms, he felt a familiar warmth envelope him. He let out a sleepy smile, dodging a floating nappy as he did so. He turned to James and gave the pup a stern look. James just gave him a toothy smile and say back onto his nappied butt – they were still working on the potty training, however night times were nappy times while they perfected the art of the toilet.

“Oh, you’ll learn to work on your skills in school, little pup,” he murmured, leaning over and running a tentacle over James’s spiky head.

James gurgled happily, murmuring; “no mama, no school,” before falling into his mama’s tentacles and onto the bed. Castiel slipped his tentacle out from under James and spread the blanket over his small body. He noticed the floating things slowly start to drop to the ground as James fell into a deep sleep.

Sammy gurgled a little, murmuring; “mama, aaah!” as she reached for the bottle.

Cas cooed at her, and settled onto the rocking chair, using his upper tentacles to hold onto the baby kitten ad his lower most to push and control the rocking of the chair.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” Dean hummed, gazing at Cas as he straightened out John and Emma’s blankets, tucking James’s stuffed toy by his side, he never did like to part far from his stuffed bee.

“So are you,” Castiel replied with a yawn. He chuckled when Sammy copied him in her exhaustion, before returning to sucking on her milk.

“Five kids, huh?” Dean stated as he looked at his wonderful family. Oh, so Cas was feeling Dean’s worry amplify his own. He looked down to Sammy and nodded.

“Five children,” he replied, holding onto Sammy and rocking her gently. “Are you…?”

“Worried? Nah,” Dean asked, but shook his head. “We can do this,”

With the way Dean said that, with that determined and love filled look in his eyes. Cas really did believe they could look after all of their little ones, Sammy included. He had waited for this moment his entire life, a moment where he was happy, with a house full of children, a loving husband and mate, and the feeling of calm and care. He placed a hand on his stomach, feeling the little one inside shudder and kick at the swell of his stomach and he smiled.

Five little ones…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry! This isn't really the end!  
> I still have a few ideas for when they are older. And though I had initially intended to write a sweet Christmas addition, I don't think I'll be able to do it for Christmas (tomorrow!!)
> 
> Instead, your gift will be the Winchester's with their kids a little older. All five children running around the house, going to school, and being adorable, maybe falling in love or something?  
> Are you interested in that?  
> Any takers?  
> Anyone?

**Author's Note:**

> Kitty!


End file.
